On Painting by Leon Battista Alberti

On Painting

Leon Battista Alberti, Martin Kemp

Penguin Publishing Group · Paperback · July 2, 1991

Artist, architect, poet and philosopher, Leon Battista Alberti revolutionized the history of art with his theories of perspective in On Painting (1435).

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Who it’s for
Alberti makes perspective, proportion, light, and composition legible as both craft and theory.
Themes
Perspective and proportion, Painting and composition, The painter’s moral and artistic ideals
Genres
Art Criticism & Ideas, Renaissance Art History, Aesthetics

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About this book

Artist, architect, poet and philosopher, Leon Battista Alberti revolutionized the history of art with his theories of perspective in On Painting (1435).

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Inspired by the order and beauty inherent in nature, his groundbreaking work sets out the principles of distance, dimension and proportion; instructs the painter on how to use the rules of composition, representation, light and colour to create work that is graceful and pleasing to the eye; and stipulates the moral and artistic pre-requisites of the successful painter. On Painting had an immediate and profound influence on Italian Renaissance artists including Ghiberti, Fra Angelico and Veneziano and on later figures such as Leonardo da Vinci, and remains a compelling theory of art. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Seeing in Perspective

Alberti makes perspective, proportion, light, and composition legible as both craft and theory.

Come here for

  • Seeing Renaissance painting through its rules of making
  • The meeting of visual craft and artistic thought

Expect

  • Principles of distance, dimension, proportion, light, and colour
  • Attention to the painter’s moral as well as artistic preparation

Where it sits

Renaissance Art History51%
Art Criticism & Ideas47%
Aesthetics36%

Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.

Publisher categories

  • Renaissance Art History
  • Artist Essays
  • Painting Techniques
Authors
Leon Battista Alberti, Martin Kemp
Publisher
Penguin Publishing Group
Published
July 2, 1991
Format
Paperback
Theme
Perspective and proportion · Painting and composition · The painter’s moral and artistic ideals
Reading lane
Renaissance Art History